May 31, 2012

After
a long and enjoyable trip, an exhausting 24 hour travel back, a dreary and
tasteless low fat airplane meal, a copious and overindulged airport Mexican
snack, a painfully hot Memorial Day weekend, and a week-long jet lag recovery,
I’m finally rested and ready to share with you my Romanian spring vacation. You may be a bit confused since I’ve posted a
couple of stories while I was still in Romania; I thought that I couldn’t leave
you guys for eight weeks without anything to cook, bake or simply assemble. Now, I’m back and, guess what,
we’re talking about Easter again. I
know, I know, Easter has long passed, the eggs have been cracked, the ham has
been eaten, but I just can’t overlook our most important holiday or share with
you some of the exquisite traditional dishes on our Easter table back home in
Transylvania.

I
have to admit that this year was my first time in eight years that I went home
for Easter; so, it was pretty special and emotional. I was afraid that I had forgotten the
Romanian way of celebrating Easter. But
there was nothing to be afraid of. Once
home, it all came back to me. In fact,
all these traditions and feelings were still there, still strongly imbedded in
my memory, behavior and faith. Perhaps,
they had only been dormant for several years.
I instantly recalled how relaxing and uplifting it had always been
around Easter to vegetate on my grandmother’s terrace admiring the greenery
and soaking up the crisp spring atmosphere.
This year was no exception. On
Easter day, the smell of lamb nicely roasting in the oven invaded the
surroundings, the eggs were already painted and were patiently waiting to be knocked,
the Pască was resting, so was the lamb haggis, while the never tiring beak of a
nearby wood-pecker kept digging for food in the bark of an old walnut
tree. It seemed that even the
wood-pecker knew it was time for a good feast.
In fact, it was time for a long awaited and beautiful holiday at home.

As
expected, the food at Easter is an essential element. We didn’t put together a pretentious menu,
but it was abundant, just as I remembered it, filled with all the dainties we
all love for Easter. The table was
colorful, plenteous and ready for us to attack.

The
most important part of Easter was to be there and prepare these dishes with my
mom and grandma after all these years. It’s
endlessly fascinating to watch my grandma cook; roaming around the kitchen with
her glasses halfway down her nose, being so quiet and absorbed that you don’t dare
to move an inch so that you don’t disturb her and make her lose her focus. And when you do move and make some noise, she
looks up, her engrossed expression disappears for a second from her face and
she sketches a smile only to regain her concentration in an instant. This year, Grandma Vicki added a new cake to
the Easter menu. It was a glamorous,
elegant and vibrant Vanilla and
Raspberry Cake. This cake was so
buttery and light at the same time, while the bright raspberries gave it a pop
of color and tanginess. It was such a
fantastic cake that we made it again for my grandma’s birthday a couple of
weeks later.

Preheat
the oven to 375°F. Coat a 14 by 10-inch
pan with butter and flour.

In a
medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar
and vanilla extract with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and beat until
incorporated. In a medium bowl, beat the
egg whites with the salt on medium speed until they hold medium-firm
peaks. Carefully, fold the egg whites
into the egg yolks, sugar, flour, and vanilla mixture.

Pour
the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden
brown and a tester comes out clean. Cool
10 minutes in the pan on a rack, then turn out onto the rack to cool
completely. When the cake has cooled
completely, slice it in half using a large knife.

Instructions for the Almond syrup:

In a
small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and almond extract to a boil and stir
until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the
heat and let cool completely. Once it
has cooled, carefully spoon the syrup over both sides of the cake. Let the cake absorb the syrup for several
minutes. In the meantime, prepare the
cream.

Instructions for the Vanilla Mascarpone Frosting:

In a
large bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract with a hand mixer
until light and fluffy. Gradually add
the mascarpone cream. Don’t worry if the
mixture will be too runny at first; it will thicken up as you beat it.

Spread
half of the frosting over the bottom half of the cake. Add the raspberries. Place the other half of the cake on top, top
side up. Spread the remaining vanilla
mascarpone frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle chocolate curls or pieces on top for
decoration.

May 15, 2012

When
I think of bananas, I usually think of an exotic fruit that gives you energy
and that it’s best eaten in the morning or thrown into a sort of cake. Well, it turns out there are countless things
you can do with bananas. One of these is
a Cranberry-Topped Pudding. Now, I’m not really sure that this is
actually a pudding, but we’ll let that slide by; it’s not that important
anyway. What’s important is that you can
have this pudding for breakfast,
brunch, dessert, snack, you name it. And
even more important is the fact that it’s featherlight, filling and fabulous!

I
came across this recipe a few weeks ago.
It was nicely delivered with our Thursday Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
paper. And out of the 10 easy things to do with bananas, this
one stood out the most. It was easy,
fast and looked (at least in the picture) gorgeous. I planned on trying this recipe for brunch
over the weekend one of these days, but it turned out that brunch came sooner
than expected. Not long ago, both Adrian
and I were in the mood for something sweet.
I’m not the only one in our family who has a sweet tooth; my husband is
a major sweet lover. Unfortunately, I
was out of anything dessert like. So, I
had to improvise. And this is how our
pre-planned brunch turned into a late night dessert. And it was well worth it!

This
pudding is a great way to start your morning or as it turned out for us to end
your night. The Greek yogurt and ricotta
cheese make this pudding hearty, while the cranberries make it chewy and
tart. And you’ll also get an energy
boost from the bananas. Sprinkle some
toasted sliced almonds on top for an extra layer of texture, crunchy bite and
nutty flavor. You will not be
sorry.

Cranberry-Topped Pudding

Adapted
from Dash (March 2012)

Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients:

·2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

·3 sliced bananas

·1 cup plain Greek yogurt

·¼ cup ricotta cheese

·2 Tablespoons honey

·2 Tablespoons dried cranberries

Instructions:

Sprinkle
lemon juice over the bananas. In a large
bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese and honey. Add bananas.
Spoon into 4 serving bowls. Top
each serving with dried cranberries.

May 7, 2012

I
have a sweet tooth. So, I would say that
any good meal has to end with a good dessert.
Having said that, chocolate chip
cookies have never really been my thing and, for me at least, would be a
stretch to call them dessert; I would rather call them a sweet snack. I think that they remind me too much of the sadly
pale cookies always present on the dessert table in the college cafeteria. I have to say that they were beautifully
displayed on cookie trays in an attempt to make them look appealing. I’d peek; even try to make myself interested,
but then walk away always ending by the ice-cream counter. Truth be told, I did try them a couple of
times. I was just too curious; I can’t
help it, it’s my nature. Unfortunately,
although they would look lush and glamorous and inviting in the stack on the
cookie tray, once out of the pack, they would lose their charm and good
looks. Those cookies were just bland and
sort of rubbery, and not even the chocolate bits inside would do them justice.

Fortunately,
I can’t say the same about thesechocolate chip cookies thatI found in the March issue of Bon Appétit. These might have just converted me to a
chocolate chip cookie lover for good.
They are so addictive! These
cookies are buttery, crunchy and sweet with golden tops and nicely toasted
brownish edges. Those utterly decadent
soft centers just melt away in your mouth, while the subtle salty aftertaste
lingers on your taste buds for a few moments only to balance out the sweetness
and richness. These are the perfect
sugary goodness to nibble on or to enjoy with a glass of milk. Oh, and they’re super easy peasy to
make!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted
slightly from Bon Appétit (March
2012)

Makes
30 cookies

Ingredients:

·1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

·¾ teaspoon kosher salt

·½ teaspoon baking powder

·¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature

·¾ cup (packed) light brown sugar

·¼ cup granulated sugar

·1 large egg, at room temperature

·½ teaspoon vanilla extract

·1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat
oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with
parchment paper.

Whisk
flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl.
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and both
sugars in a large bowl until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. add egg and vanilla extract; beat on
medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add dry ingredients, reduce speed to low, and
mix just to blend. Fold in chocolate
chips.